Rolf Gohs

(b. 1933, Sweden)

Mystika 2:an (1979)

Rolf Gohs was born in Estonia and raised in Poland during World War II. The Gohs family moved to Sweden in 1946, where young Rolf developed his interest in comic art. He dropped out of school at the age of 16 and found employment as a studio artist with Centerförlaget, where he worked alongside artists like Nils Egerbrandt. His first assignment as a comic artist was producing stories for the 'Kilroy' comic book when the publisher ran out of the original Italian material.

Gohs subsequently got the opportunity to make his own series, which were the science fiction story 'Mannen från Claa' and the horror series 'Dödens fågel'. Gohs then focused on his work as an illustrator (for magazine Levande Livet), photographer and filmmaker. He was even praised for his short film 'Statyetten'.

He returned to comics in 1960 when Semic Press hired him to draw covers for the Swedish 'Phantom' magazine Fantomen. He also did some of the interior art, which makes him one of the first local artists for the Swedish production of 'Fantomen' stories. Gohs additionally made a daily strip about 'Pelle Svanslös' together with Börje Nilsson.

In 1969 Rolf Gohs started the publishing firm Inter Art together with the editors Per-Anders Jonsson and Janne Brydner. The firm published two comic books, one being 'Kilroy' and the other being 'Mystika 2:an' ('The Mysterious 2'), which became Gohs' trademark series. Inter Art lasted only a short while, but Gohs' new series was continued by Semic.

'Mystika 2:an' is sort a of milestone in Swedish comics. Starting out as an adventure series about two youngsters in the Stockholm area, Gohs started to write stories based on human relations and social messages, while his artwork became characterized by black and white contrasts, extreme angles and diagonal compositions. After a regular publication in Fantomen magazine, the series was published directly in albums by several publishers between 1974 and 1982 and also knew some minor international success.

Gohs, who continued to draw Fantomen covers for over 40 years, has additionally made cover drawings for Agent X9 and Seriemagasinet. In 1985 he made the short-lived horror series 'Blodsmak' in the adult comic magazine Comet. In the early 2000s he completed his series 'Dom oskyldiga' about the Children's Crusades in the 13th century, that was published as a back-up feature in Fantomen.